- Question: Who the hell is Jimmy Butler? (Honestly, I follow the NBA pretty damn close and I've never heard of him.) Answer: Some young scrub who's filling in for Lu' Deng who straight-up KILLED Tay Prince all night long.

- Speaking of Tay, he once again did his "I'm just gonna take the 2nd half off" routine after having a decent first half and non-existent 2nd half. THIS my friends is just one of the reasons why Tay should be making 1/2 of his current salary. ...Heck, I'd much rather pay Jimmy Butler!

- Greg Monroe passes up more shots than a recovering alcoholic(...I'll be here all week folks! Please tip the wait staff and baretenders.).His career peaked last season unless he can figure out how to knock down a freaking 15 footer. For a guy who missed a triple-dub by 1pt, 2 boards and a couple dimes, he looked aweful out there. There isn't a defender in left in the NBA who doesn't know that if you just sag off him a little, he's a total SELF-CHECK.

- Will Bynum got out "Teen-Wolfed" by Nate Robinson. I'd love to see those two cats play a game of 1-on-1 to 100.

- Mike Abdenour should remove the "t" from the back of Stuckey's jersey after last night. It only took Stuck 1 year of community college and 6 years in the NBA to figure out that he'll always be wide-open if he just stands out of bounds.

- Rip was one bucket away from being the Pistons' top scorer last night if you consider the fact that Detroit is still picking up the tab for his salary. He and Singler were going at it pretty well. I'm stoked at how Kyle didn't back down and stayed with Rip while Rip was running through all of his screens.

- Blaha was a total pro when Benny the Bull was screwing with him during the beginning of the broadcast. It's too bad tha the Pistons' "donkey mascot" wasn't there to defend George's honor.

did anyone notice Larry tidbits post game quotes? He talked about how stagnant the offence was and the need for defensive stops...same crap he always praches..These are the times I miss Larry B, when Larry B made a mistake he " owned it" and told the media..I can only imagine that Larry Tidbit is gonna lose the team with his attrocious coaching and then blaming the players for it. He puts the worst possible players in the worst situations and then blames them for not succeeding.. I liked Tays comments about How Thibideu did a great job coaching and how he let his second unit work through their mistakes and theat his second unit came back to really help them win the game. Kinda a smack in Tidbits face for yankin our secoind unit guys and not giving them a shot in the second half. I wonder if we would have won the other game when moose and Drum had rough first halfs...if Tidbit had refused to play them in the second half when they came on like wild fire and blew the game open? Great coaches decision

- Rip was one bucket away from being the Pistons' top scorer last night if you consider the fact that Detroit is still picking up the tab for his salary. He and Singler were going at it pretty well. I'm stoked at how Kyle didn't back down and stayed with Rip while Rip was running through all of his screens.

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And here I was thinking there was nothing good to be had from this game. You're right, Rip tried to intimidate him and Singler just kept on coming. Bodes well.

I don't understand why everyone thinks of Charlie V as our worst defensive player. At least he ducks his head and runs at guys with his arm raised (kind of like hailing a taxi in the rain). Bynum doesn't even bother to do that. With all his flaws I'd take Stuckey as the backup point any day.

Monroe gets my vote for worst of the day. Someone needs to remind him that he is a center, ought to stand with his back to the basket once in a while, maybe even post up, let the offense run through him. No idea what he was doing last night, especially down the stretch. I don't buy at all that it was Noah taking him out of the game. He has to be in the game before you can take him out of it. This team needs a real big man coach in the worst way. Wonder what Cowens is doing?

To complete the rant, why did frank sub in daye and cv with 5 secods to go in each quarter when we were on the line? Are they masters of stopping half court chucks?

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Often times a coach will do this at the very end of a quarter just to extend the starter's rest. Instead of standing around on the free throw line for a minute or two, the starter can sit down, get a drink, and start recovering earlier. Sometimes, the sub may have checked in at the scorers table with a minute or so left, but if their are no whistles, he may not get in right away.

- Question: Who the hell is Jimmy Butler? (Honestly, I follow the NBA pretty damn close and I've never heard of him.) Answer: Some young scrub who's filling in for Lu' Deng who straight-up KILLED Tay Prince all night long.

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Sorry dude, Butler can play. He's been a nice surprise for them this season. He's their best perimeter defender and he's a guy who doesn't back down in the brightest moments on either end of the court. He defends for 4 qtrs and then the light bulb comes on for the kid offensively in the 4th. Not a scrub by any stretch.

- Greg Monroe passes up more shots than a recovering alcoholic(...I'll be here all week folks! Please tip the wait staff and baretenders.).His career peaked last season unless he can figure out how to knock down a freaking 15 footer. For a guy who missed a triple-dub by 1pt, 2 boards and a couple dimes, he looked aweful out there. There isn't a defender in left in the NBA who doesn't know that if you just sag off him a little, he's a total SELF-CHECK.

t" from the back of Stuckey's jersey after last night. It only took Stuck 1 year of community college and 6 years in the NBA to figure out that he'll always be wide-open if he just stands out of bounds.

The NBA is a players league, but what is Franks basketball philosophy. For the video junkies what do you all see as his principles? Most coaches have a specific plan on how to defend pick and roll. How to use pick and roll. etc. Just wondering because sometimes it looks like pic up ball out there.

That play that Maxiel tied the game up with was AWFUL. Yea it worked, but only because a completely blown defensive assignment. They barely got the ball out of bounds. The refs should have called the whistle for taking too much time.

Also, JMAX barely put the ball in he has such little lift off the ground.

Well, all the negatives have been covered extensively, I want to comment on a few positives I saw in the game:

- When Stuckey first entered the game, he made two very sweet assists to Drummond in back-to-back posessions. We could've won the game if he had realized that he's allowed to do that in the 2nd half. - There was a stretch where Moose and Dre were on the floor together and on the defensive end, Dre guarded the 4 (Boozer) and Moose guarded the 5 (Noah). That defensive assignment actually worked well. A very small sample size, but it is possible that we would be defensively ok in that scheme. - There was also a stretch where Maxiell & Drummond were on the floor together and that is one hell of a defensive unit. Chicago wasn't getting anything in the paint during that stretch. - Knight is slowly becoming a very good defender. I like him better as a defensive menace with 3pt shot as opposed to a scoring PG. - Singler can ball. - Dre picked up 2 early fouls, but was able to play through foul trouble.

The third time the Chicago announcers mentioned how bad Chaz defense is I was reminded of the color commentator who during a full game refered to Charlie as Charlie "not known for his defensive qualities" Villanueva.

And here I was thinking there was nothing good to be had from this game. You're right, Rip tried to intimidate him and Singler just kept on coming. Bodes well.

I don't understand why everyone thinks of Charlie V as our worst defensive player. At least he ducks his head and runs at guys with his arm raised (kind of like hailing a taxi in the rain). Bynum doesn't even bother to do that. With all his flaws I'd take Stuckey as the backup point any day.

Monroe gets my vote for worst of the day. Someone needs to remind him that he is a center, ought to stand with his back to the basket once in a while, maybe even post up, let the offense run through him. No idea what he was doing last night, especially down the stretch. I don't buy at all that it was Noah taking him out of the game. He has to be in the game before you can take him out of it. This team needs a real big man coach in the worst way. Wonder what Cowens is doing?

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Coach Frank took him out of the game. Who on earth could Monroe pass to? Frank puts no, or not enough, shooters on the floor to open anything up for Monroe. Don't blame Monroe for being in an impossible situation.

I blame Moose for not taking the wide open jumpers that the defence was taunting him with. His reluctance to even pump fake at taking it allowed Noah to sag right down into the lane and make no room for any penetration or passing room . He kind of reminded me of Ben Wallace last night on offence, except Ben was smart enough to know that he HAD to take that shot if he was going to have any chance of keeping his defender honest. And this is supposed to be a cornerstone PF moving forward? wow...a pf thats affraid to shoot and cant elevate in the post....we are defenitely headed in the right direction, for a high lottery pick EVERY year

I blame Moose for not taking the wide open jumpers that the defence was taunting him with. His reluctance to even pump fake at taking it allowed Noah to sag right down into the lane and make no room for any penetration or passing room . He kind of reminded me of Ben Wallace last night on offence, except Ben was smart enough to know that he HAD to take that shot if he was going to have any chance of keeping his defender honest. And this is supposed to be a cornerstone PF moving forward? wow...a pf thats affraid to shoot and cant elevate in the post....we are defenitely headed in the right direction, for a high lottery pick EVERY year

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The worst thing Moose could do is start settling for jumpers. For one, he is not going to hit them often enough to ever make anyone cover him, so it will just mean he never learns how to drive inside effectively.

What is needed? Outside shooters to surround Moose. And Drummond for that matter. Start Singler at small forward instead of Tay. Start English, Daye, or Middleton at shooting guard. Keep starting Knight, the best of our three point guards at the outside shot. At power forward? I say Drummond. A guy, or two, have to watch him to keep him off the boards.

Opinion of Frank: Not doing his job, and he simply does not want to do it. He would rather lose than admit his rotations to this point in the season are pretty much pure non-sense.

It would have been a much better decision to have the spread offence in the 4th q, but I am not letting Moose off the hook in the game just because his coach is an idiot.Yes, Moose needs to settle for the Jumper when its that wide open...If your man is 8 feet away from you and you continue to try to drive it to the rim? you are then an idiot and have no place on a winning team, let alone starting. Also, Lee if you expect Drum and Moose to coexist? Moose has to hit the open jumper. Maybe in years as Drum continues to develope he may build a consistent jumper? but I want Drum in the paint where he is going to be fully using that beast athletisism god gave him. If Moose continues to pass up that shot and force the issue? he will have officially become the 6'11" version of Stuckey...and we should have Max or JJ play alongside Drum instead.

Lee, nobody's advocating Monroe settling for jumpers. He just needs to take that mid-range shot when he's wide open. It'll pull the defender out of the paint to cover that jumper which will allow him to drive or assist to Drummond or a penetrating guard. Right now, he doesn't even show any awareness of, let alone interest in that shot. As a result, his defender just guards the paint and Monroe ends up having to force the issue with a very tough drive in traffic that ends up in a circus shot. He hit 5-6 of those in the 1st half and missed just as much, if not more, in the second half.

I agree with lee in that the skill sets of Drummond & Monroe would be enhanced by surrounding them with outside shooters.

I disagree with lee in regard to Monroe settling for jumpers. Greg has a pretty unique skill (for a PF) of taking his defender off the dribble. Using this skill will be MUCH easier if he's a threat to shoot the pill from 15 ft. ...Not to mention, a wide open 10-15 footer in the NBA is money in the bank. Cats like LMA, Duncan, K-G and Z-Bo have made a careers out of hitting this shot.

He has to, otherwise? his career will take a huge downturn as noone will stay tight on him anywhere away from the hoop and he will not be able to use his drive at all. This is a HUGE turning point in Mooses' career, and the Foundation building of this team . He has to take that shot, and hit it at a decent clip if this team goes anywhere with him in the future.

Well I am absolutely FURIOUS!!!! Watching us give up an 11 point lead in the fourth like that when we were dictating terms, on the road, in Chicago, has to have been the toughest quarter for me to watch this year. Even tougher than the one we scored 8 points in - at least we were hilariously bad in that. There was NOTHING funny about this loss.

And this loss is on no one but Frank, and Frank alone. Why the hell you would leave Stuckey in the game when you had chances to take him out at the 10min, 9min, 6min, 5min, 3min and any other bloody time you wanted to sub him out is beyond me. But to compound that, you run play after play after play for him!!!! JUST HOW CLUELESS ARE YOU FRANK?!?!

Stuckey was horrible all game long and the only reason I can think he kept going to him and leaving him out there is his "supposed good record against Chicago" - which in the context of one game means absolutely nothing. This is also a coach who said just a few days ago he wouldn't play a guy in his home town on the basis it may give said player a lift, so why the hell would you play Stuckey just because he has a past record against the bulls.

People have said it before, but this was a big example that Frank really has no game sense. Maybe it is a product of his lack of actual basketball game time. He may be a good gym coach but I have to agree with the comments in the coaches thread and that he shouldn't (and I hope wont) be around when these young guys are ready for the big time.

In the AFL my team had a similar type coach. Really good in developing new schemes, getting players match fit, etc etc, but when it came to game time, he just couldn't make in game adjustments or see when the momentum was changing and would stick to his play book. Unfortunately my team went to two consecutive preliminary finals with the best and second best team in two years and got beaten both times. Then stuck with him another 2 years for a total of 6. Hopefully Frank is gone in 3 (I would say two, but they won't fire him before next season).